Friday, February 24, 2006

It's 1980's Can't Stop The Music! Doesn't it look fab? But what can we expect from watching it? Well, let's see what the box promises. Can it deliver?

Oh, it can deliver indeed. And "camp-tacular" - that's the best I can come up with.

The plot isn't important, really. It's about Steve Guttenberg, as a songwriter and DJ. Who forms the freaking Village People with the help of his platonic roommate, former model Sam.

He forms the Village People, people. He creates them. He writes their songs. He is the mastermind behind the campest disco ever, and that's saying a lot.

The opening scene is the Gutt's character, Jack Morell (not the similarity to the real Village People creator Jacques Morali) quitting his job in a record shop and rollerskating through New York City.

He rollerskates through New York City! On rollerskates!! This may top the "Miss Piggy borrows skates from Gregory Hines and chases down her mugger in Central Park" scene from the Muppets Take Manhattan as the best rollerskating scene set in New York.

I can't think that there was ever a time when this was conceived as a straight movie in any way. It is the campest thing I have ever seen. And I've seen some camp movies in my time, I'll tell you that.

Of course, it's not a good movie. The plot is sketchy at best. They get their big break in a milk ad? What? There's a whole subplot involving Steve Guttenberg's mom? What? All these people are flying to San Francisco to help them out? What? The construction worker has a solo dance number with lots of hot chicks, implying that he is straight? What??

But the plot's not important here. It's campy and fun and chock full o' Village People songs. It's quite telling that of all the actors that appeared in the film (and I'm including Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner in that category, although it does imply he can act, which he cannot), our man Steve Guttenberg is pretty much the only one who managed to salvage his career. Nice one, Steve. Shake it off, and move on to better things.